


You'll Never Know How Many Dreams I Dreamed About You

by Omnifiasco



Series: With Love, From Different Worlds: A Series of Percabeth AUs [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alcohol, Ceux Qui Rêvent, F/M, Flirting, French Annabeth, It's been a long long time, La vie en rose, Percabeth AU, Percabeth Paris AU, Percy centric, drunk percy, percabeth fanfic, they are a mess, this is kinda happy too, this is kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24042013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omnifiasco/pseuds/Omnifiasco
Summary: [Percabeth French Encounter AU]In which Percy is drunk in Paris of all places, and somehow found himself on the bank of a river, crying his ass off and Annabeth just wants to go home.OrA really weird French encounter of Percy and Annabeth starring the rat in Ratatouille, a stolen beer mug, and that one confused mime guy in the Louvre.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: With Love, From Different Worlds: A Series of Percabeth AUs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730239
Comments: 12
Kudos: 48





	You'll Never Know How Many Dreams I Dreamed About You

**Author's Note:**

> Third fanfic !! I am getting the hang of Ao3 and a lot of you have given me kudos, so thank you for reading my stories! 
> 
> I've created a series of Percabeth AUs so go check it out in my dashboard. Also forgive my grammar mistakes and typo because this is unedited. 
> 
> I based my French from what I learned, so sorry if there are mistakes.

Percy didn't know how he ended up in Paris, drunk, and painfully single. He was supposed to be celebrating his first anniversary in Paris with Rachel, until she dumped him a few weeks ago and he wasn't allowed to refund his tickets for the very last minute. He definitely was not thinking of going alone, and somehow it was just his bad luck that no one among his friends and family had thought of going with him for heaven's sake. 

Now, he was in Paris, and the Eiffel tower is visible from a distance, and looking at it makes his heart ache so much. He should have been up there, doing sightseeing or some shit that he knew they were supposed to do, but now it was just him and he was holding a beer mug that's suspiciously from the bar he just went to. He also doesn't know why he was wearing a goddamn tuxedo which he rented for fifty bucks before he got to Europe on his own, and now he was wearing it because he might as well should. 

He thought it would be a fun vacation, and since his ex girlfriend was exceptionally good in French, he managed not to learn even one damn thing before he got to the flight. He had used a map app on his phone, but that's where his vocabulary was limited to. He doesn't know literally anything about France- including the culture, the currency, and how the fuck do they speak without being short out of breath every sentence. 

He had thought France was beautiful, and he was disappointed because it was just an ordinary city. Damn, the Eiffel Tower looked like an electric post of a television network from afar, so why  _ in gods loving fuck were they taking pictures there?  _

And he was utterly significantly disappointed. It turns out there are no mimes in Paris, and it's only limited and they were most commonly seen near the Louvre, and he was not in the mood because he kept following him and he literally ran straight to a post because of it. 

The night was more disappointing too, since it turns out Paris actually sleeps at night. Unlike New York, you can't go out in Pajamas and pullovers without looking like a sane person. You can't just barge in on a grocery store near the house at an ungodly hour, because the shop closes too. And it was just his damn luck that Percy couldn't cook if there was a gun pointed at him, so he ended up spending so much money on French restaurants and mispronouncing every word when ordering. He once even tried a damnable snail thing that will make him puke for the rest of his life. 

And whenever someone asks him about anything in French, he had wanted to cry then and there. Paris doesn't even count as a city of love. He thought men and women dress in fashionable clothing and were pretty extra about anything of attraction, but no, they were wearing  _ jeans. _

He had been at the riverbank for a few hours, sitting at the stairs and looking at the stars, not thinking about anything at all because thinking of it makes him cry. He was too drunk to even notice anything in his surroundings. So when a girl shouted at him, he didn't notice it until she was standing next to him. He continued drinking his beer. This cost him approximately three dollars where it should be one and a half, if he was getting arrested he might as well finish it.

There was no one there except him and a very old looking taxi. The lights on the lamppost flickered on and off, and the stores were almost closed. He noticed a small boat from across the river, and by the bridge a couple meters to his right was a jogger wearing an earphones on.

He noticed a woman (or femme, as what they call them) about his age looking at him. She looks beautiful, and well, she looks French as far as French people go. But then again, French people are mostly white. She was a bit pale, and probably a few inches shorter than him, and she was wearing a turtleneck and a mini skirt, and this little scarf. She looked beautiful in the low light. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Percy felt like he knew her and had seen her face before.

"Hé toi! Tu es mon chauffeur, oui? J'ai un probleme, monsieur. Je ne pense pas l'hotel est ouvert." The girl said with the perfect french accent that he could find literally everywhere here in this freaking city. He had wanted to cry then and there.

"Ah...si," Percy had said, literally not understanding every word she has said. How do French people breathe after speaking for five seconds? They must have had a guiness world record for that or something. "I mean, oui, uhm, bagels, croissant, merci?"

"Tres amusant," She rolled her eyes at him. "Tu parle français ou quoi?"

Percy broke down, overwhelmed. "Literally  _ what the fuck _ are you saying?"

When he started crying, she noticed the woman tensed and backed away from him for a little. Percy doesn't want to scare her, but he doesn't want his existential crisis to be postponed because someone was asking him god knows what kind of question. He wants to go home.

"You're not from here," The girl's voice somehow got a little bit deeper when she changed language, and Percy's head immediately perked up. This girl was messing with him for a few minutes. 

"And you can speak English?" His beer mug was at the ground he'd been sitting on, and when he looked up with her, she had finally realized he was drinking. "With a perfect accent."

"Yes, and you're not my driver." She said, picking up the phone and dialing someone. It was a few minutes later when he heard a call, and there were muted voices and the girl speaks as if she was cursing in French. 

"Fuck!" She finally said almost ten minutes later, looking so angry at everything around her. She hurriedly grabbed her bag, and then started rummaging, but then somehow she resulted in not finding what she was looking for, because she had all but sat down next to him, looking so deflated. 

"Welcome to my life," Percy chuckled, drunkenly groaning and gesturing at her for a beer, if anything. He figured whatever was causing her damn problem can be solved by a liquor. The girl was looking at the river, almost wanting to cry (finally something they relate to). Only then did he noticed that It was almost one in the morning, and the lights of the establishments were closed, and now there were no morning joggers. 

She was really cute, he wasn't gonna lie. And Percy has always been a sucker for blondes before, and her gray eyes suit her. Percy felt like she's seen her somewhere, he was sure about it, but he can't think of anything that she's associated with him. For now, he didn't trust his hunch either. And it kinda sucked, really, that he was on his drunken stupor and couldn't complete one sentence, and if he talked he was pretty sure she'd go away because oh my god you don't just sit close to drunk people you just met on the riverbank. But there she was, almost six feet away from him. She was close enough, he guessed. 

He looked pretty lame too, and probably his eyes were bloodshot and his ears were red from the cold and his tie was nowhere to be seen, and his slacks were not ironed. He looked like a mess. It was worse because he's with a very pretty girl right now that he didn't know the name of.

It's about ten minutes before she responded. Percy figures she wouldn't go anywhere since her phone practically shut down and he was sure she doesn't have a charger. He didn't even think French people have phones. He thought somehow they brought these huge ass French bread with them and wore skirts all the time. But of course, that had been because of stereotypes.

"I'm Annabeth, by the way," The girl threw her loofah looking ponytail string by the river and heaved a sigh. "Okay, I did not expect it to go that far."

If she looked like a Goddess in ponytails, she looked even better when her hair was pulled down.

"I'm Percy J-" He hiccuped. "Jackson. From New York."

Annabeth didn't say a thing for a while, only looking at the view right in front of her. When she did though, Percy finally stopped gulping down the last of his beer. He felt pretty light headed, especially when she was looking at him.

"So Percy what brings you here?" She asked, looking at him. Her hair followed the motion of her head, and oh my god he doesn't know if it was the alcohol or anything, but even her hair was beautiful. 

He finally had the guts to pat the dust around his tux, straightening himself up. He had his head on his hand. "I thought I was going to see Gusteau's restaurant." 

He thought she was going to laugh at him, but she just offered a small smile, and said in a very quiet way that was literally the cutest thing ever. "Yeah?" 

"Unfortunately, that place isn't actually real! Damn."

And she laughed at him, and he swore he could hear angels sing from above. Like that one really good French song. 

"Percy, you're really drunk," She laughed. "I think that's enough for one day."

"Oh, yeah," Percy coughed. "Definitely, mademoiselle. Apparently, some rat named Ratatata or something kidnapped the health inspector, so they had to...uh, shut it down." 

He doesn't know how he could form sentences, maybe it was the way she looked at him that made all the adrenaline rush. 

"It's ratatouille," She rolled her eyes. "And that's not even the rat's name! His name is remy!" To prove her point, she threw her bag at him and sure enough, there was really nothing in there for some reason.

He smiled. "So why are you here, uh...how do you say beautiful in french?" 

She thought of it. "Beau. That's it."

"What...okay, at least that's easy." He muttered. "Why are you here, miss beau? I don't think you're the type of girl to sit with drunk people on the riverside."

Annabeth looked at him, and Leonardo de Capriovinci was right. He literally wants to draw Annabeth as one of his French girls because wow she looks like an angel.

"Hmm, I guess you're right." She thought. "I just want to go home. I can't hire a cab and book a hotel, so voila. You look really lonely though."

"That wound me, Annabeth. Truly!" He had his hand on his chest, clutching it for special effects. "I'm not... Lonely!"

His words were still slurred, but he managed to say it anyway. Annabeth was looking at him as if she was thinking, and under her gaze he felt...small? She was calculating him at least, and he sure as hell was blushing. 

"Do you have your car, Percy?" She asked, and suddenly Percy was alert. He was drunk enough to be really tipsy, but when people starts asking questions or something he was sober enough to know their intentions. 

"Uhm," He backed away a little, which probably surprised Annabeth more than him. "Only rented. What...what do you want?"

Suddenly, Percy doesn't  _ want _ to draw her like his French girls. If she wanted to get his car, she would have to go through him. And Percy was sure as hell going to dive head first in the river before anything. That car costs him a lot. 

It was a relief when Annabeth started laughing at him, and she moved forward a little bit, and Percy ended up backing out, pointing his finger at her. "Okay, I don't speak french but non or something! Go away, ah, bagels, or whatever. What are you gonna do?!" 

If it's possible, she laughed a little harder. She had told Percy to relax, and when she was closed enough, she held him by the collar and started putting the dust out of his coat. 

"Relax," She whispered, holding his collar. "Tu es mignon, monsieur."

"I-I don't understand," Percy stuttered. "Y-You can't... bribe me!"

She doesn't know why Annabeth was laughing, but it felt like heaven. If she was going to stab him right now, he was scared he might thank her for it.

"Percy, would you be willing to have a one night stand with me?" She asked all of a sudden, and Percy gulped. Something in her eyes gleamed a little, or was there? He wasn't sure, and maybe it was just the trick of the light from the lamp post near them. She looked beautiful, and oh my god was she asking him that? Did he hear it right?

Okay, first of all, Annabeth's really hot and cute and under circumstances, yes, he would definitely be willing to if that's what she wanted. It wasn't like he's in a relationship now too, so it was pretty okay. Somehow, he hesitated, and he didn't know why.

"L-Like on a bed?" Annabeth was smoothing out his coat when he asked a very stupid question (okay he knew it was stupid so give him a break).

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him, voice full of sarcasm. "Gee, I don't know Percy. We could also do it here." 

He didn't know exactly what he was thinking, but it somehow blurted out. "Are you...a p-prostitute?"

Annabeth looked shocked enough to put out her hands, and when Percy thought she would be offended, she laughed at him instead. 

"I'm pretty sure I'm not," She smiled. "You look like you weren't having a good time, so let's have a good time. I'll drive you to see the Eiffel tower up close and we could go picnic in the middle of the night. What do you say?" 

Percy was okay with it. She looks so beautiful right now that if he ever gets kidnapped he wouldn't care for now. Damn. 

"What, i mean, why are you doing this?" 

Before he could say anything else, she shrugged and held out something that looked exactly like the key to his car. Percy's eyes went wide with realization, but Annabeth was smiling and gesturing for him to follow her, so he did. 

"I have to make you at least believe that Paris is indeed the city of love, right? What are you waiting for, Percy? Scared?" 

Somehow, her way of saying his name sounded really beautiful. It kinda hurts. If there was a thing called falling in love with a stranger, maybe, he was lucky enough to try. He doesn't know much about her, but this adrenaline rush and his beating heart and the stolen keys were something that made him stand on his feet. Annabeth looks beautiful in the glow of the moonlight, and she looks even more beautiful looking at him.

He doesn't know how he ended up being there. Or how she knew it was his car, but Percy kept following her until they reached said rented car. True to her words, Annabeth was in fact driving them near the Eiffel tower and because Percy was too drunk to drive, she ended up on the wheel with a 170 pound man on the front seat. Percy wasn't feeling sleepy at all, but Annabeth was persistent that she drive, and well, Percy's mom would kill him if he had said that he trusted a stranger to drive them off somewhere in the middle of the god damn night. 

They listened to some French songs that he hadn't heard, but those songs were absolutely endearing at midnight for some reasons. 

"Like it?" Annabeth asked. "It's Ceux Qui Rêvent by Pomme."

"It sounds...sounds like something I'd listen to if I'm miserable. No offense. I think it's endearing though." 

Annabeth just laughed at his slur, saying, "Yeah, that's why I like it." 

Percy somehow looked through her at then, and there was a sadness somewhere there in her eyes, he noticed. When she wasn't looking at him, it seems like the stars were suddenly fading from her eyes. "I- I feel like...i know you from somewhere? Have we met?" 

Annabeth raised her eyebrow. "Pretty sure I'll recognize your pretty face from afar. So the answer is no." 

Percy blushed. 

And it was true, that they were having a picnic near the Eiffel tower, which, oh wow it  _ actually  _ looks big, and for all this time he thought it was only about ten stories tall. Percy had brought his camera, which was a good thing, since this will be considered a once in a lifetime moment seeing the tower up this close. She had set up the picnic but not before buying food (god I  _ didn't know _ there was a store there) and somehow they ended up lying and looking up at the stars. Percy was well aware of his surroundings, and how awfully peaceful the place was without any people around but them. Annabeth had been sitting up on her spot on the picnic bed, and she was looking at the tower. 

"Percy, will you be my boyfriend?" She had asked, but she wasn't looking at him. "I know it's kinda rushed, but be my boyfriend for six hours."

"If you promise not to kill me, we'd go straight to the altar." He laughed, since he couldn't believe anything that was actually happening right now he somehow felt like he was in a different reality from what he had six hours ago. "But sure, why not?" 

Annabeth smiled. "Can I hug you then?" 

"Alright, but I'm not getting up." 

They somehow ended in the picnic bed, cuddling close to each other. Annabeth ends up using his arms as a pillow and she was so close, and her hand was on his waist. 

They've talked about a lot of things for a while, about anything actually, and Percy...he didn't feel...he didn't feel awkward. He felt like home, which is weird. He had felt more rush than being with someone for a year, and they only knew each other for approximately two hours. Percy couldn't put the word at the tip of his tongue, but it was there, waiting to be spoken. Annabeth looked at him as if he was the world, and he hoped he looked at her the same way. 

They had been laughing for a few minutes before he brought out another topic. 

"How did you learn English?" He asked her. 

Annabeth looked away from him and started looking directly ahead of them- the stars- before answering. "I'm from New York. I've been here four years ago and I just kinda learned."

Percy's eyes widen. "No kidding! Me too! Maybe that's where we saw each other!" 

Annabeth didn't look at him, and if it was possible to look down while resting, she might as well did. "Hmm, yeah. Maybe."

She laughed, but Percy felt like it was forced anyway. 

"What school did you go to?" He asked, wanting to shift her sudden mood, but to no avail. 

"I…was homeschooled. Yeah, I was." And Percy wasn't big into knowing anyone to know how they lie, but somehow this ended up being her biggest one. Percy didn't bother though, because all in all the night had been perfect for them, and they ended up laughing more and more. 

Annabeth was literally an angel sent from above. God, he won't stop emphasizing that.Why didn't someone like her end up with him much earlier, maybe then he wouldn't get into complicated things with different girlfriends that wants nothing to do with him now. Percy starts seeing Paris in its color, and it was true, that you don't get to really appreciate Paris until you see it's beauty from the eye of a person in love. 

"Is it okay if I kissed you?" Percy asked, suddenly having the strength to stop being a coward. Annabeth wasn't only cute, she was so damn likable too, and Percy had listened to her for hours first hand, and he had finally come up to the conclusion of his thought. The eiffel tower was standing in front of them, and the stars are above them, and Annabeth looked pretty at the glow of the light. This is the perfect romance story anyone wanted. What more could they be looking for?

"I would like that," She smiled, before closing the gap between them. It was slow and sweet, and Percy was sure there were fireworks in his body that wanted to come up. But it was perfect and worth it. 

"Wow," Percy didn't mean to be so awestruck, but he had been anyway. 

Annabeth was smiling at him. "Hmm, yeah. Let's do it again." 

And they ended up doing it again. 

It was around four when Annabeth started to get up, and Percy was looking at her, dazed. Among the many views of Paris there was Annabeth herself, and he was lucky enough to stare at her so nearly.

"Let's go somewhere else," She told him. "I want to take you to a special place I know." 

And they drove all the way across Paris. Who knew Paris would be so large? Percy had thought it would a small city, but no, he was mistaken. Annabeth tagged him along without asking for his permission. They had finally arrived at the front of a big amphitheater, and Percy was confused as hell. He kinda trusts Annabeth now (which confuses him even more), even after only knowing her for about three hours then. She easily got inside, unlocking the big gate that was in front of them and closing the door shut, and if it has a grand entrance from the front, it definitely looked like an amphitheater that has been well maintained. The chairs were all leather, and the roof was black and high above ground, with chandeliers Percy had never thought would be that big.

Annabeth had asked for him to wait on one of the chairs, going up without him knowing exactly where, and Percy had been sitting there for ten minutes. Percy's gut instincts have told him to trust Annabeth, so he wasn't going to be worried...much. 

The chandeliers started dimming until it was only a faint glow, just exact to light up the stage but not the audience itself, and Percy had wondered if he were in a dream, when music had started playing. Percy couldn't help but to smile at Annabeth as she ran to his side. Before she could say anything, Percy had asked her first.

"Can I dance with you?" 

They ended up dancing for an hour or so, but it wasn't the type of dance like those of competitions. True, Percy doesn't have any rhythm, but Annabeth doesn't look like she wanted more than just to sway. 

If it was the end of the world, Percy would have stayed there with Annabeth. 

"This is nice." She had commented. He closed his eyes and felt the beat of their hearts. Annabeth was resting her hand on his side, her head on his shoulder, and Percy can't help but to smile.

It was so rare to be so in love with a stranger, but somehow they made it happen. The soft innocent way of holding someone in his arms had made him feel loved, and looking at Annabeth, half drunk, felt like a rush of blood to the head. 

There were few songs he knew, and some he didn't. He had liked La Vie en Rose before but this feeling about the song was a thousand times stronger than before. But like everything else, not every moment was meant to last forever.

_ You'll never know how many dreams I dreamed about you _

_ Or just how empty they all seemed without you…  _

They had swayed for their last song before the dawn breaks, and it was sad, because he felt like reality was continuously grabbing him until he was on arm's length again and again. 

When Annabeth brought him home that day, something changed. His beer mug was long forgotten on the road, and his keys were on his jacket. His smiles were more playful and Annabeth looks just as happy as before. She had kissed him goodbye at his hotel door, and Percy should've known. 

"Will I ever see you again? He asked him, although he knew that the chances were a good fifty fifty. 

"I'm sure you will," Annabeth had put out a pen and wrote it down his arms, and she hugged him ever so closer than before.

'How do you say I love you today in French?" He asked.

"Je t'aime, aujourd'hui. " She said. 

"Je t'aime aujourd'hui, Annabeth." 

"Mais pas demain?" Annabeth teased. 

Percy made a face at her. "I don't understand." 

She laughed, before giving him his last kiss and saying goodbye.

There are things that changed a lot, he noticed. His smiles were a little bit brighter, and now there was a beer mug on the side of the riverbanks, and there are remains of food in the parks overlooking Eiffel tower. He now knew that Remy was the name of the rat and Gusteau's wasn't actually a place. Somehow, he had left that mime trying not to laugh at his stupidity before. 

He had pondered about that before he fell asleep, and when he woke up, Annabeth's number was barely a strike of an ink. And he wished, that when things were beginning to change, she somehow knew how they shared the same feeling at the same time. He wished that somehow she knew that they left their hearts on the places they went to that morning. He wished he had said more...

Because he never saw her again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Again, it didn't turn out as i planned i just hoped i gave it some justice. 
> 
> I really appreciate you leaving comments and giving me kudos! As you can see I'm a new writer so these little things are what motivates me most! If you like more Percabeth AU content from this account, please do take the time to hit that kudos button (even better if you comment)! 
> 
> Songs used:
> 
> \- Ceux Qui Revert by Pomme  
> \- La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf/ Louis armstrong  
> \- It's Been A long long Time by Harry James and his Orchestra (hence the title) and yes, it's Peggy and steve's song but why not?


End file.
